SUGGESTION:
DOWNLOAD THIS BOOK, AND READ IT ON THE POTTY WHILE YOU ARE SIPPING CUVEE DOM
PERIGNON 54, WHILE PUFFING ON A ROMEO Y JULLIETTE CUBAN CIGAR.

PART ONE

THE
4TH
WAVE

THE NATURAL
ASCENSION OF TUBE CONSCIOUSNESS

Prologue

CHAPTER
1

THE 4th
WAVE

The power of high end
audio in the 1970s derived from the fact that it was subversive to mainstream
thinking....we were the AURAL rebels. At the core of this movements
power was the notion that, in spite of the almost universal acceptance of
transistor in audio equipment, that tube circuits still reigned supreme. This
was the FIRST WAVE of modern tube consciousness, and it was anti-modern
long before this was fashionable.

In 1980s there was literally
only one type of tube amplifier available in America and it was a Williamson-type
push/pull EL 34 or 6550 pentodes with lots of feedback. In 1981 I created
the first commercial OTL amplifier, based on the Julius Futterman circuit,
and then there were two types of tube amplifiers available. By the mid 1980s
WAVE TWO emerged and there were lots more "normal" super high horsepower
push/pull pentodes with lots of feedback, and more OTLs, and then in the early
1990s, the THIRD WAVE emerged with the growing popularity of very low
powered single-ended directly heated triode circuits....because Joe Roberts
of Sound Practices Magazine showed the us what Japan was into. At that point
there were three different "core" topologies, push/pull, single-ended and
OTL, and many variations of each to choose from.

It is impossible to disconnect
single-ended circuits from the directly heated triode renaissance with "new"
tube models appearing almost monthly. Now everyone is tube savvy, with many
different subcultures of tube maniacs. When you look at these two decades,
from the Guildmeisters of view, (where technology always follows imagination)
what we see is an ascension of tube consciousness...the tube mind, horny devil
that it is, is insatiable in its craving for more refined forms of beauty.
This is why it has created a wider range of expression and a more subtle one...this
is a mind that is ascending to greater refinement. This is the mind on the
4th Wave.

What is the FOURTH
WAVE in this tube ascension? It is the natural evolution of our musical
sensitivity demanding more refinement, more subtly, freedom of choice
and most importantly...the ability to fine tune tube circuits so that our
audio system perfectly reflects our inner music.

In this case, right here
and now with this Plitron project I am addressing one of the most important,
yet overlooked, element of tube circuits......it is time for us to get
higher in output transformer saviness.. OPTs are the soul of every tube
amplifier and are, and should not be an unknown commodity to you. After we
have traveled the long road we must return to the most basic, soulful, consideration...the
single most important element in every tube amplifier....the output transformer.

WE ARE
READY TO CONSIDER THE MOST IMPORTANT, AND IGNORED, ELEMENT OF EVERY TUBE AMPLIFIER...THE
SOUL...THE OUTPUT TRANSFORMER.

Can any of you imagine
the shame of NOT KNOWING THE BRAND OR TYPE OF TUBES YOU USE? Can you imagine
not knowing the brand of speaker, phono cartridge or cables you use? Expand
a little....how can you know nothing about the most important element in
your tube amp...the output transformer? (Dont blame yourself or
rack your soul with shame...we are all part of a dysfunctional audio culture.
If you are guilt persists join one of my Transformer Sensitivity Workshops)

Do you now understand
the Guildmeisters meta-campaign? I want you all to start taking the
most important, and ignored element, of your objet damour more seriously.
Do you understand the transcendent transformer is the output transformer?
It is time for musicmaniacs all over the world to RAISE YOUR OUTPUT TRANSFORMER
CONSCIOUSNESS. If you dont, soon all of the attractive women in your
social circle will know that you are a transformer meathead...a dullard...a
cad...the kind of guy that goes bowling in a satin shirt.

(IF YOU ARE
A HORNY IMPATIENT TYPE YOU CAN JUMP AHEAD TO PAGE 8 AND DISCOVER
MY BREAKTHROUGH)

ARE YOU
STUCK ON THE THIRD WAVE?

The obvious answer is
only if you want to be. Nothing is more frightening than changing your mind...like
realizing that tube amplifiers are more musically authentic than transistor
amps. Then you began to consider that there really is a difference in the
aural matrix created by push/pull and single-ended amps, and that pentodes
do sound very different than directly heated triodes....and then the thought
starts creeping into your head... maybe our Japanese audiomaniac brothers,
who are into a serious head about output transformers, know something that
we are finally ready to deal with....music soul matters...and that means output
transformer quality matters, and it is below your par in store bought amplifiers.......

LET ME REVIEW THIS
STATEMENT: The output transformers is the single most important element
in your tube amplifier and you know nothing about them, and everyone assumes
you are not smart enough toknow the difference in quality.
Why is the OPT more important than your tubes?...think about this bros....once
you have installed your OPT you are not going to change it......easily....you
are married to it for life...tubes, you can change in less than a minute....divorces
are easy and painless, and polygamy encouraged.

NOW
STOP READING AND GO TO THE PLITRON WEB SITE AND DOWNLOAD ALL OF THE ARTICLES
ABOUT OUTPUT TRANSFORMERS, AND PRINT THEM AND MAKE THEM INTO A BOOK AND TAKE
THEM INTO THE POTTY AND READ THE,

CHAPTER
2

But first
none of this makes sense unless you believe that......

OUR DREAMS
HAVE POWER

"A Man Has
to Have a Dream"

Do you dream? When
you put your head down on your pillow, or while you are waiting for a train,
or while listening to music, do you dream the dream that thousands dream...the
dream of your dream amplifier that will transport you to the highest regions
of musical ecstasy? Join the club dude.

In the evolution of human
consciousness we find, at its center, a dream of beauty. We find this dream
in the Paleolithic caves of France, in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, throughout
all native cultures and in the development of modern European culture. It
certainly is present in America, though American men are most reticent about
admitting their need for beauty, except when it comes to cars and magazine
center-folds. It is the responsibility of each generation to redefine this
dream and make it meaningful, which is why the artist, who is intrinsically
the rebel, is so important in the evolution of culture....he is our guide
in the natural wilderness of our dreams.

Decades ago I reached
the conclusion that of all the modern arts, the audio arts was the most relevant
and least understood. Not in sculpture, not in basket weaving, not in macramé,
but in the audio arts I, like you and thousands of others, are able to express
our dream of beauty...and it is all about the expanding possibility of ecstasy
within music.

This explains why I have
consistently supported the audio artist, the rebel, who is shredding the boundary,
because that is always where art is most vital.

The entire audio industry,
all of the designers, all of the manufacturers, editors and agitators, like
myself, exist to serve your search for beauty. My job is to convince you to
expand your dreams and demand more musical beauty.

This project exist because
Menno Van derveen and Howard Gladstone of Plitron Manufacturing had a dream
and work together to bring it into reality, and when I experienced....their
work inspired a dream in me......

WHY AND
HOW YOU SHOULD BUILD
YOUR OWN TUBE AMPLIFIER

Stop, and
now read my articles about why you should learn how to build a tube amplifier

I assume that you have
two left hands, have never soldered a wire in your life, and cant read
a schematic and are terrified of getting an electric shock. Perfect. If that
is true then you are the perfect man to build an amplifier, because it is
too expensive and time consuming for you to sail across the Pacific or climb
Mt. Everest.

A man needs a challenge
and there is nothing more rewarding that confronting the limits of our experience....
except in this case we are going to make it very easy because I am going to
insist you hire a skilled guide...someone who will sit by your side and take
you through the process.

If you choose a single-ended
amp that uses a simple two stage 6SN7 for a voltage amp and driver and a 300B
output tube we are talking about a circuit that probably has less than twenty
parts. All of the hard work is already done..the chassis is punched.

Get on the Internet or
advertise in your local newspaper that you want to hire a local radio/TV radio
dude, who will be paid by the hour to take you through the steps of building
your own amp and teaching you own to solder, use a volt meter, and the simple
techniques used NOT to get a shock.

What are the benefits
besides the enormous pride of achievement and owning a state of the art amp
and saving tons of money? Your experience of music will have been altered
dramatically...trust me on this one. The reason should be obvious and there
are articles on the Triode Guild web site which goes into greater detail on
how the creative process expands our experiential boundaries....YOU HAVE NOTHING
TO LOOSE.

NO MORE
BITCHING ABOUT THE
TUBE AMPLIFIER GAP

I take great pride in
being the most critical audio journalist in the entire universe, and often
awake from my sleep screaming, "Why Me Lord? Why Me?" It also clear to me,
as ex-US Army soldier, and lover of G.I Joe action figures, that I have a
patriotic duty to all freedom loving Americans to help close the "TUBE AMPLIFIER
GAP" which exists on three levels: (1) the enormous difference between the
true state of the art, custom made hot-rod, tube amplifiers you see
on DIYers/audio artisans web sites and the tube amplifiers you can buy in
stores, and (2) the enormous gap in creativity between American and Japan,
Italy, and England all of whom are ahead of us in tube amplifier design. (3)
Why should a state of the art tube amplifier cost as much as Harley-Davidson
Electro-Glide? How many normal dickheads, like you and I, can afford such
expensive transportation to higher dimensions of musical reality? Nothing
is more important to me than creating for YOU the opportunity to experience
what is normally beyond your budget.

I have raged against
American tube amplifier and speaker manufacturers on my Triode Guild web site,
and have suggested over and over again that, like all revolutions, the
dynamo of change will come, not from the center, which is creatively petrified,
but from the rebel....the audio artist on the fringe....YOU.

TOP SECRET

NOW IT CAN
BE REVEALED!
SECRET MISSING LINK
IS THE BEAUDACIOUS CHASSIS

WHICH YOU
CAN NOW ORDER FROM PLITRON ON THEIR WEB SITE

Of course this implies
that you are ready to jump from the third wave to the 4th Wave..meaning you
have reached a higher level of artistic refinement and you know the difference
between the personality of EL34 vs. 6550 vs. 300Bs, or push/pull vs. single-ended.

Let me put this another
way: There are two groups of tube amplifier customers: (1) Those who want
the ease of walking into a store and buying a known brand...and dont
want to be confused by choices, and are not bothered by compromises (2) The
higher IQ, more musically sensitive man who is no longer impressed with the
highly compromised tube amplifiers that are designed to satisfy Mr. Normal,
and is ready to have an amplifier created to satisfy his own unique vision.
Of course, because this man is more knowledgeable he recognizes that what
he needs may not be available in America...like a highly refined push/pull
forty watt per channel 300B or 6550 amplifier. Or what about the man who wants
a 15 watt one tube single ended triode of ultimate refinement? There are none
available in America. Or lets get more basic...what about a single-ended
300B amplifier of ultimate refinement...and affordable? Not available in America.

YOU know that great tube
circuits are simple, and that once you decide on a power rating, circuit configuration
(push/pull or single-ended), output tube types (directly heated triodes or
pentodes) that building the circuitry is not only relatively simple, but,
if he so chooses, can be changed to a different configuration very easily
when he gets bored.

Dont like the carburetors
or cam shafts in your hot rod motor? What do you do? Buy a new motor or just
change the parts? Which explains why I own lots of different brands of tubes
and own lots of different types of carburetors...it is much easier to change
tubes and circuits than carburetors.

CHAPTER
5

MENNOS
GENIUS:

THE ART
OF TOROID OPT DESIGN
FACT: THE SOUL OF YOUR TUBE AMPLIFIER
IS THE OUTPUT TRANSFORMER

My nose knows. When,
once upon a time long ago I was a textile designer, my clients used to say
I had a great nose for design, meaning that I knew from among hundreds of
designs which would sell..it was purely intuitive.

I have the same nose
for audio circuits and I took one whiff of Mennos new revolutionary
design and I knew I was beholding something major....especially when I compared
it to the gaggle of other "normal" transformers I have.

Most of you are unaware
of toroid transformers which use a round hollow core, as opposed to the E/I
core which use a bobbin in flat laminates. Toroids and E/I transformers, because
of their very different physical design, create very different type of magnetics
and that is why they operate differently and sound so different.

In the last twenty years
toroid power transformers have gone from obscurity to commonality.
There are so many advantages to toroid designs that they have rapidly replaced
"normal" transformers. Plitrons major business is toroid power transformers.
I dont know a high quality transistor amplifier that doesnt use
them. Of course Plitrons major customers are not audio manufacturers.
Though toroid power transformers offer superior performance few tube amplifier
manufacturers use them in America (they are popular in Japan) because they
dont match the shape of the EI core ( square) output transformer. But
my point here is that designing a state of the art toroid power transformer
is a piece of cake compared to designing a state of the art toroid output
transformer. There are hundreds of companies that make toroid power transformers
and only one that makes toroid OPTs.

In the truest sense...Menno
made the breakthrough, and I look at him in the same way I look at Julius
Futterman...a true pioneer of the audio arts. This genius emerged from
decades of dedication to Mennos dream of creating an output transformer
that permitted higher levels of musical ecstasy...Mennos dream of higher
states of musical union is the dynamo of his creative efforts.

Now that you have finished
reading Mennos books and all of the technical articles that are available
on the Plitron web site you understand that his toroid output transformers
have very different electrical characteristics than "normal E/I" output transformers
and you are beginning to understand the relationship, though it is mystical,
between their unique design and their unique aural matrix. You will note that
Japanese audiomaniacs are groking these transformers...and they are the most
sensitive to transformer aroma.

When I met with Menno
at the Oct, 99 AES convention, to discuss his toroid pilgrimage, I immediately
knew that he was a Zen monk in a previous lifetime, who probably crafted music
bells. Passionate, introverted, philosophical and totally dedicated to exploring
the shadows of musical ecstasy is an accurate description of the only man
who "broke the single-ended toroid barrier". I am not diminishing his achievement
in designing such high quality push/pull toroid OPTS, (which in their own
right will soon cause a major revolution in the push/pull religion) but
designing a single-ended toroid is like climbing Mt. Everest in a bathing
suit. He deserves an award for this, and I gave it to him.

In 1999 Menno gave me
a sneak preview of his upcoming single-ended design and I emailed my fellow
tube savants all over the world and asked them what they thought of this concept.
Most couldnt even imagine it. Those who were familiar with the technical
problems normally associated with toroid output transformers said it was a
very bad idea and would sound terrible. I even asked my friend Ulrich Poulsen,
of AlphaCore, who manufacturers toroid power transformers, and he said it
couldnt possibly work right. One heavy-duty old timer audio engineer
blurted out..."Nonsense". Then I called Christopher Columbus and Orville Wright
and asked them what they thought of Mennos revolutionary concept.

By this time I received
a large stack of yet unpublished technical papers from Menno which went into
(way over my head) technical detail on how he solved the problems normally
associated with toroid output transformers. This is a technical tour de force,
and a significant technical and artistic achievement and I am very comfortable
to state, with the boldest confidence, that any previous critical opinions
about toroid output transformers, that are based on NOT Mennos design,
are irrelevant. Let me say that another way: Until you come to understand
and experience Mennos technical and artistic achievement your notions
about toroid output transformers are obsolete.

It was obvious that Menno
suffered for many years on the path of perfecting these designs, and I am
certain that his artistic achievement/engineering skills indicate a sublime
balance between music passion and engineering...very rare indeed. As you will
soon discover from reading his book, his music passion created his passion
for tube amplifier design and that birthed his passion for creating a new
family of toroid OPTs that would expand our envelop of musical ecstasy.

And that is the difference
between power transformer designers and OPT designers. OPT design is an art.
An OPT is a magical device, and like all audio devices it electrical characteristic
is only a meager insight into its potential. The electrical characteristic
of an output transformer are extremely important because we want them to operate
properly, but the only way to know their artistic capacity is listen to them
in various circuits. Want a good map of Mennos journey? Read his book
( I am not getting a commission on book sales).

Before I close this section
let me make this point: I believe we are on the verge of a new genre of push/pull
amplifiers...I feel it and I see it...all across the thermionic horizon...lower
power, much greater refinement...very stiff regulated power supplies...and
the key to maximizing this new push/pull aural matrix is to get very far down
into the unique design of Mennos push/pull designs.

If you dont believe
just check just check issue 12/summer 1999 of Vacuum Tube Valley Magazine...Kevin
Kennedys 30 watt push/pull amplifier with two different types of tube
regulation!

THE WHOLE
PLITRON
TOROID OPT SHABANG:
THE EXPANDED AURAL MATRIX

When you take the whole
shebang and wrap it up into one ball of music wax; when you put it all into
one big pot and stir it up this is the stew we are in:

The only reason that
justifies a new form of audio technology is that it creates an expanded aural
matrix...something that is easily recognized as being more mysterious and
musically beautiful..Something that has the capacity too more deeply affect
our primitive physical sense of music. Being a "new and better" circuit doesnt
matter a rats ass if we are not deeply moved by the music created.

There is no doubt, in
my mind, that Mennos new output transformers designs create a unique
expanded aural matrix, (TRANSLATION: EXPANDED MUSICAL BEAUTY) and it must
be because they are toroids, because when I take my "tube amplifier module"
and plug "normal" transformers (which I can do in five minutes) the magic
goes away..There is a shrinking of the aural matrix..It becomes narrower...there
is less openess..the air is gone..the dynamics are limited...the harmonic
whole-osity is diminished...what more can I say...it is that obvious.

For those who love single-ended
circuits and have accepted their well known limitations because they are so
musically magical in other respects, I want to suggest that with Mennos
toroid design those limitations are very much less limited and you will rethink
your notions about single-ended circuits.... and what we love...there is more
of it. Those of you who have not explored single-ended circuits because you
observe their lack of tight bass and top end extension...wake up...no more
complaints...and if you are looking for high powered single-ended circuits...this
is the path.

I am not being flip when
I say that it will take a long time indeed to fathom the full glory of these
round gizmos because these demand much more sophisticated circuits....and
America is just learning the art of sophisticated tube amplifier design...like
it existed in the 1930s...and exists today in Japan.

Let me say this another
way...with the Plitron toroids the limits of possibility have been pushed
out to the point where circuit designers are now going to have to catch up....
And I suggest you check out the Japanese articles on the Plitron web site
to understand what I mean.

CHAPTER
6

WARNING:

THIS CHAPTER
IS FOR
THE EGO SECURE ONLY
AUDIO WEENIES

DO
NOT READ

THE HI-IQ
JAPANESE PATH

What is so impressive
about the Plitron effort is the vast array of articles, technical information,
and books by Menno, that are available to give you an excellent education
in the art of tube amplifier design. This is the right way to treat customers
in the world of the Internet.

We have all entered a
New World of HI-IQ audio, and I believe Plitron is setting the right example
for everyone, and I want to take this effort even higher. Yes I am very
demanding...I demand and I will help you get very deep down into your dream
amplifier creation process...and that means reading and studying all of Mennos
books...Plitron articles...and surfing around the web...

Lets face it dudes,
why would the Guildmeister want to associate with anyone other than the best
and brightest?...makes no sense.... and the sense is... have the ego strength
to know that across the ocean is a more refined audio culture that we should
be imitating....no pain, no gain...

JUST COPYING
THE JAPANESE AUDIOMANIAC MODEL

Like I said, the reason
I am such a Zen gizmologist is because I haventinvented anything
new here. I am just using the Internet to stimulate the development
of the Japanese audiomaniac culture outside of Japan, Those of us who
religiously read MJ and Stereo Sound, on the potty, and swoon over all those
ultra-cool custom made amplifiers know this truth: In Japan the hot rod tube
amplifier market exists so that the enormous community of skilled audiomaniacs
(who know how to solder and read schematics) can build their dream amplifier.
This is the path for the Japanese music connoisseur who wants ultimate performance.

Hey there Mr. America,
Mr. South America, Mr. Europe, Mr. Madagascar, you deserve ultimate tube amplifier
coolosity, so you have no choice but to go the custom made hot-rod route,
because you have no choice. Isnt that why you have all your suits made
on Savile Row in London? I apologize in advance for all the beatings I will
bring down on your head but just remember this analogy: autos are to America
as audio is to Japan...the really cool gizmos of life cant be
store bought, you have to go the custom maderoute...My article
on the Triode Guild web site about the amazing $5,000 Sun Audio of Japan amplifier
kits are a good example of the type of companies supplying the connoisseurs
need for the best quality.

Because of the Internet
you now know that the tube amplifiers available in stores, "off the shelf",
are not where the state of the art can be found. Those store bought amplifiers
are filled with too many compromises and too expensive for YOU, the community
of gifted, sensitive music maniacs, who quite frankly demand a higher
level of tube coolosity.....YOU KNOW TOO MUCH NOW TO SETTLE FOR LESS.

OBSERVATION: We
surf to tube web sites and see really cool custom-made tube amplifiers. We
look in the pages of Glass Audio, Sound Practices, Vacuum Tube Valley and
see really cool circuits from all over the world. And what else do we notice?
Chassises that look like they came from Toys R Us...flimsy,
ugly and poorly fitted...and our dreams get limp because we want a beautiful
circuit to be contained within a beautiful chassis. Would you buy an amplifier,
no matter how cool its circuit, if it were mounted in one of those ugly toy
chassis? Get my point?

CHAPTER
7

EVERY MOUNTAIN
HAS A TOP
AND THAT IS WHERE YOU BELONG

Can we talk
about the reality of being a Wholey dude?

Tube amplifier lovers
are facing the same crisis that Hawg owners were facing. Thirty years ago
when I bought my first Harley-Davidson I was member of an exclusive club.
Today everyone rides a Harley, which is why custom Hawg shops are on every
corner..sensitive dudes like us need unique totems that express our unique
artistic personality. The same is true with tube amplifiers. The Internet
has shown us that there is a heretofore-unknown world of custom hot rod high
performance amplifiers...and music fires are burning in our loins...rightly
so.

Life is short and who
wants to look at life from the bottom of the mountain when the view from the
top is so thrilling? (This wisdom also applies to (1) military strategies,
i.e.: always fight from the high ground, and (2) for short people, like me).
This wisdom applies to our most important passions. If smoking cigars is what
makes your loins smoke then, go for it, and smoke the greatest work of cigar
art, so you can experience the highest of cigar highs. What are you waiting
for? Or, is the climb to the top of the mountain too expensive for you?

Of course, we live in
a world where the music mountain keeps on growing wider and wider with more
and more "low quality" music making the base. On the other hand, there are
ever expanding possibilities of new forms of musical ecstasy, and they are
at the top of the mountain and American Express cant take you there...you
must climb and get off the beaten path...you must demand more and give more
of yourself if you want the ultimate high...in music, or any other activity.

I guess I am asking you
to ask yourself the most fundamental question: Where do you belong on the
hierarchy of musical beauty?

Which brings me to the
economics of ascension. The reason so many passionate musicmaniacs are notsurfing the crest of the music wave is because it normally takes a BOATLOAD
OF MOOLA....GIGANTIC GELT.....HEAVY GOLD BARS.....and that is what this revolution
is all about....drastic reduction in the cost of surfing to the top of
the mountain.

THE GUILDMIESTER
ASKS:
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF VERY SERIOUS?

I can not find ONE transformer
coupled tube amplifier that is manufactured for distribution through stores
that meets my standards for "serious", which is why you should now
go a check out my VERY SERIOUS TUBE AMPLIFIERCHECK LIST WHICH YOU
WILL FIND IN SECTION THREE. Now that is a pretty outrageous claim and
I am sure it will get many upset..tough on the chickens when the fox gets
in...I didnt make the revolution, I am only enjoying surfing it. This
is a great business opportunity.

A short while ago this
would have been an outrageous claim, but the Internet has elevated your perception
of tube amplifiers, because every night, seeking your dreams, you surf to
those audio artists web sites and drool over that really cool custom
hot rod audio gear. Who can blame your male DNA for wanting the concrescence
of coolosity? The days of believing that what audio reviewer is drooling over
is absolutely the coolest audio gear is over...for ever.

PART II

CHAPTER
10

CREATION
CHOOSING YOUR AURAL MATRIX

I love men who passionately
argue about beauty...especially musical beauty and that is what the debate
is all about when it comes to push/pull versus single-ended circuits. Of course
the good news is that, unlike transistor amps, you have lots of choices and
this is not about right or wrong, but about which aural matrix triggers
musical ecstasy in your soul.

Now that you read everything
on the Triode Guild web site, you understand my position about both...neither
single-ended or push/pull have been developed to a high degree of sophistication
in America. If you have been comparing the relative value of each, your comparison
is based on comparing less than optimal circuits. Does that mean when you
compare the proper implementation of each that the differences disappear or
get larger? The answer is definitely YES.

How should you decide
which to choose? To a great extent the answer is dependent on your speakers,
because the lower powered single-ended circuits require speakers of very high
efficiency...though I remind you again that all tube amplifiers willsound better with high efficiency speakers.

My cycle of three decades
of thermionic evolution flowed this way...push/pull pentode to OTL to single-ended/directly
heated triodes, push/pull with directly heated triodes, and now I am ready
to experiment again with push/pull pentodes...each is a unique form of beauty...and
only you know what is right for you, my dear Dr. Frankenstein.

AN
AMPLIFIER IS A LIVING CREATURE
MY DEAR DR. FRANKENSTEIN

FIRST OBTAIN
THE HIGHEST QUALITY HEART, SOUL, BONES AND MUSCLES, AND THEN THE BRAINS CAN
EASILY FOLLOW....AND YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR MIND EASILY.

My goal here is to de-mystify
the tube amplifier design/creation process, and convince you that creating
your own dream amplifier, whether it is single-ended or push/pull, is no different
than creating your own dream home, dream car, dream motorcycle, dream rifle,
or dream barbecue grill. I was playing with the idea of using the "Lego" toy
model as an example, where you can snap different basic components together...but
that was too simple...yet in a sense it is true. My "Lap-Top Amplifier" article
on the Triode Web site describes this project.

If you had in your library,
all of the books and pamphlets I ever published...going back into the late
1970s, all the way back to "TUBE GOD", you would notice that everything I
am recommending here, I recommended twenty five years ago, and when you surf
to the really cool tube web sites, the same advice is being given today, and
it is all much more advanced than what you read in audio magazines.

But remember my meta-agenda...this
is just the beginning of the 4th wave where you are becoming much more sensitive
and aware of your SOUL..the quality of your output transformer...which I believe
is the weak link in American amplifiers.

This Dr. Frankenstein
model is an effective, yet imperfect, analogy and takes all the romance and
mystique out of tube amplifier design, and I hope it stimulates your imagination:

THE HEART:
The output tubes

THE SOUL: The
output transformers

THE MUSCLE:
The power supply

THE BONES:
The chassis

THE BRAINS:
The design of circuitry, including the input circuit which connects all
of the above.

Here is a bold claim
from Dr. Gizmo: This Triode Guild project is delivering to you the highest
quality heart, soul, muscle and bones you can obtain America. All you
have to do is figure out what brain you want....and... you can change your
mind next year...if you get bored...and this is a surprise you will soon learn
about...

You have two basic options:
(1) If you are skilled builder you will assemble your own amplifier, or (2)
You will hire some audio artisan to build your dream amplifier for you, and
together you will decide the implementation of your dream.... and there is
a growing list of these artisans on the Triode Guild/Plitron web site.

Now let me offer you
my most profound personal advice:

BE VERY
SIMPLE, BE VERY STIFF

Which is my core philosophy
about tube amplifier circuits. Use simple high quality circuits with very
stiff power supplies. Personally, I find complicated circuits sound complicated,
they tend to be less reliable, and often exist, NOT in the service of musical
ecstasy, but to satisfy the audio designers ego; so that the designer
can claim that he has created something "new and different".

Designers of complicated
tube circuits claim that their unique circuit point of view eliminates different
forms of distortion, which may be true, but complicated circuits also add
their own form of distortion, which I describe as a loss of tonal purity.
I am not criticizing any specific circuit, and mention this credo as a general
guide.

Let run through your
artistic decision making process:

Decide how much power
you need

Decide if you prefer
the push/pull or single ended aural matrix

Decide which output
tubes you want to use

Decide which output
transformer you want to use

Decide how "stiff"
you want you power supply to be.

Decide how refined
you want your circuit to be

Decide what input/driver
circuit and "output configuration" you want

Decide what aesthetics
you want in your chassis design

Thats not so mysterious,
and this is the process that every tube amplifier designer goes through. The
implication of the above is obvious: Each feature or path you choose represents
the crafting of your unique aural matrix. Push/pull pentodes create a different
aural matrix than single-ended/ directly heated triodes...different input
circuits sound different and different configurations of power supply sound
different. For the novice this freedom can be confusing, and that is understandable,
which is why the TRIODE GUILD chat room is there to help. For the tube savant
this is literally a dream come true. With this project, for the first time,
you are not given any limitations...you can ascend as high as you want.....and
now for a quick concrete example:

Everyone in America who
makes 300 B single-ended amps uses either a 2.5K or 3.5K OPT because this
impedance gives the greatest power, yet there is a well developed community
of triode maniacs in Japan who believe, and they are right, that the 5K OPT
gives a more refined sound, at the price of lower power...about 5 glorious
watts. So I use 5K Plitron SE-OPTs because I made the choice that I preferred
refinement to power...a choice not available to me in any store bought amplifier.
And of course amplifiers with the quality of the Plitron transformers are
completely unavailable at your local hi-fi emporium. I believe, as does
Howard and Menno, in freedom of choice....for those who are refined and secure
enough to demand and enjoy it.

THE FIRST
COMMANDMENT

But no matter your religious
preference the existential reality is that the single most important commandment
is: THOU SHALT USE THE HIGHEST QUALITYOUTPUT TRANSFORMER...
the quality and personality of the output transformer you use is the artistic
foundation of your dream amp..it is the soul of every transformer-coupledamplifier, and there is great deal of difference here in quality. Think
on this for one moment: You can change your tubes very easily. It is easy
to change your input/driver stage, but once you pick your OPT, your are married
for life.

Which brings me to my
pet bitch about the quality of output transformers used in American amplifiers,
and I made this complaint long before I discovered Mennos toroid OPT.
It is shocking that the tube amplifiers the audio press considers state of
the art have such mediocre output transformers...but there is a good reason
for this. The OPT is the most expensive single component in any tube amplifier
and this is where there is the greatest cost compromise, especially when
you consider the universal cost/multiplier: every $100 of cost gets translated
into $4-500 added on to the retail price. Use two high quality OPT that cost,
at the very least $300 each. and you have added at least $2,500 to the retail
price.

Lets review this
cost/multiplier that I knew well at New York Audio Labs. Let say an amplifier
cost is $200 in parts and $100 in labor, equaling total cost of $300 which
has to multiplied by at least two so that we make a profit, making the wholesale
cost to the retailer $600, which makes the retail price for you $1,200 so
the store can make a profit.

Now do you understand
why it is impossible for American tube manufacturers to use the best quality
output transformers? This cost multiplier also explains why the "custom-hot
rod" Japanese tube amplifier market is based on customers wanting the highest
quality OPTs that they know are never available in store bought amplifiers.

In Japan output transformer
connoisseurship has reached such a high level of refinement that there are
many custom output transformer makers that will gladly make you your own designs
at a cost of between $1,000 to $2,000 each. Are you ready to spend $2,000
just for your OPTs?

Let me also point out
a unique feature of the Japanese audiomaniac culture and it, again, resembles
our hot rod auto culture: the wisdom is to buy absolutely the highest quality
speaker drivers and output transformers because they will never go out of
style, but will appreciate in value. Buy a very high quality motor and it
will never go out of style...you just rebuild it. Get tired of your speaker
system? Just change the configuration of the drivers (still using the same
drivers); change the cabinet and crossover. Getting tired of your amplifier?
Just change the input circuit, but never change the output transformer. Makes
sense to HI-IQ types. I am suggesting you adopt this Japanese attitude.

To return to the Plitron
toroid revolution:

I do not know any
better transformer than Mennos OPT designs unless you are ready to
spend $1,500 each on the custom Japanese models. They are my favorite
transformers until something better comes along, and they totally satisfy
my artistic standards and my campaign to get you into taking your output
transformers more seriously.

The quality of Mennos
toroid design means that you are assured of creating a tube amplifier with
transformers that are truly state of the art, which if they were available
in a store bought amplifier would be affordable only by Mr. Rich Guy.

Dreams Have Power:
It is time for you to make your dream amplifier a reality.

THE MUSCLE: POWER
SUPPLY:

Now that I have convinced
you to take your output transformers much more seriously, we can move on to
a subject that I have been exploring for more than twenty years; a subject
which I spent considerable time discussing in my first book Understanding
Tube Electronics.

Do the Plitron toroid
power transformers scare you because of their large size? You are immediately
struck by how much larger they are than the power transformers used in your
amplifier. Size matters and they are intentionally designed to be over-rated
and flexible and what that means is superior performance and enormous flexibility
now and in the future. If you want a very stiff power supply you must use
a very over rated power transformer...and thatmeans bigger
and more expensive. Here for the first time are power transformers that
encourages you to go wild and crazy with your designs. There are enough different
voltage "taps" to support a wide range of circuits, and these transformers
can be used with every AC input so it doesnt matter if your wall socket
is in Katmandu or Tokyo. This is all coupled with the inherent advantages
of toroid power transformers, which I must comment on in terms of the refinement
imperative....but first get out your stethoscope and put it on the power transformer
of your amplifier and listen to its hum. The advantage of toroid power
transformers is that they are very very quiet and they do not have the inherent
mechanical vibration of normal transformers which can be transmitted into
the input stage of an amplifier and cloud the sound.

Those of you who have
read my articles in Positive Feedback Magazine are also aware of my campaign
to upgrade the quality of tube amplifier power supplies. The expression associated
with power supply quality is "stiffness" which means that the power supply
B+ voltage doesnt vary with the "music load". When an amplifier starts
producing dynamic power its power supply voltage starts to sag and that is
not a good thing. The best strategy for the ultimate power supply quality
is to use active tube regulation, and this very old idea is finally coming
back into popularity. I cant recommend too strongly the exploration
of this option.

The next best way,
and the way used by 99% of serious tube amplifier designers, but almost completely
absent in store bought American tube amplifiers, is to use chokes, which are
inductors, which look like small transformers.

These are absolutely
essential in every serious tube amplifier design, and as you will discover
I suggest them on every DC voltage rail in your amplifier and that includes
output, input, bias, and filaments (if they are DC and if you are really insane)).
Why are they so important? The better the quality of your output transformer,
the more important is the sonic signature of your power supply. Plitron
OPTs demands the best quality power supplies because they will reveal the
sonic weakness of "soft" supplies. Stiff power supplies are needed here,
and that means very robust and over rated power transformers that are well
filtered with chokes or regulated. Chokes also "filter out" all of the high
frequency hash that can appear at the output of solid state rectifiers either
because of their own inherent noise quality or high frequency noise contamination
from the AC wall sock. But most importantly the electrical characteristics
of chokes "smooth" out most of the residual AC ripple that is inherent in
all rectifiers, both tube and solid state, and "stiffens" the power supply.

Let me translate choke
filtration to sonic benefits: the first thing that is most noticeable with
Plitrons toroid OPTS, because it is most obvious, is the improved dynamic
quality and clarity of the bass response. I will stand by this statement:
without chokes, or active regulation, it is impossible to achieve high quality
bass response in any tube amplifier. End of argument. So if you want to fully
realize the improved bass quality of these OPTs use a stiff power supply.

But in the long run it
is the higher degree of refinement in tone, and the expanded aural matrix,
that really matters, and you can especially experience that in the midrange.
In this area which is always the strong suit of tube amplifiers choke filtration
makes the great, glorious. By eliminating the ever present AC noise contamination
and by diminishing power supply AC ripple the midrange becomes must clearer,
more radiant and subtle, and the benefits are not subtle. In other words the
taste of the midrange becomes strictly gourmet.

As you will discover
I suggest, if you are seeking ultimate refinement, use, at the very least,
a completely independent and choke filtered power supply for the input circuit,
whichcompletely decouples it from the output stage power supply.
I know of no American store bought amplifier that uses a separate power supply
for the front end, or (obviously) one that is choke filtered. Yet, when you
look at the true state of the art DIY tube amplifiers in Italy and Japan it
is common practice! Are now ready for one of my favorite taunts? You will
also notice that this was standard practice in the 1930s...just check out
the old schematics! The future is the past. Wake up America!

Consider this point:
chokes are passive devices that are completely reliable so they do not change
the reliability of your amplifier. Only the Triode Guild chassis is big enough
to accommodate them. It is possible that you may use as many as FIVE chokes
for each mono chassis or SEVEN in a stereo amplifier. Count the number
of chokes in your average $10-15,000 store bought amplifier! IT IS USUALLY
ZERO!

Let me mention this trick
to anyone who is contemplating a stereo amplifier, one that uses one power
supply for both channels: use a choke for each output and input stage (four),
thereby giving you maximum power supply separation possible in a stereo design.
Fortunately the Plitron chassis is big enough to accommodate this.

The type of power supply
capacitor you use is also an important consideration and I am antagonistic
to "normal" electrolytic capacitors power supply capacitors because of their
grungy sound. In my own custom made amplifiers I only use industrial oil
capacitors in the power supply.... but NO store bought amplifiers have them
because they are so large. The only large value power "lytic" supply capacitor
you should use, if you want ultimate refinement, is the Cerafine brand...and
they are expensive.

There is a hierarchy
of rectifier righteousness and at its bottom is the universally used cheap
25 cent silicon diode which produces horrendous high frequency hash which
is toxic to tonal righteousness, and must be avoided at all cost. If you must
use solid state diodes you must use Hexfreds and they must be filtered with
chokes. Why use solid state rectification? It is cheap, convenient, and may
give better bass response...and if you are building a tube amp that needs
a very high current power supply it may be impractical to use a large higher
current tube rectifier. Everyone will want to use Hexfred rectifiers if you
need DC on your filaments, (but again it must be filtered with a choke, or
regulated when used on directly heated triodes if you want ultimate refinement)

Now having said all
of that, the only way to achieve maximum refinement is by the use of tube
rectification, and again I suggest a separate tube rectified power supply
for the both the input stages, output stage and bias supply in single-ended
triodes. Tube rectifiers produce a higher quality tone because they dont
produce the "hard" harmonics of solid state rectifiers. There is an obvious
sonic difference between solid state and tube rectification and tube rectifiers
win by a long shot.

Tube rectification has
the added advantage of giving you a slow turn on of your B+ voltage, which
prevents your tubes from being zapped with high voltage before their filaments
turn on. This extends the life of your tubes and over the long run will insure
lower noise levels.

The only negative feature
of tube rectification is that they may not have the best bass transient
response compared to solid state rectification. But that limitation can be
overcome with proper power supply "stiffness".

Which brings me to the
power supply dilemma of high powered push/pull amplifiers whose power supply
would need a very large tube rectifier or a "tube rectifier bridge" made from
four tube rectifiers, which may become impractical. My suggestion in this
case is use a tube rectifier for your input stage, Hexfreds for the output
stage, but make sure you use choke filters. In this case be sure that you
are able to turn on your filaments with a separate switch, so you can turn
them on first, and warm up the tubes, before you turn on your B+ voltage.

OUTPUT TUBES:
This is truly the golden age of tubes with an enormous variety of extremely
high quality tubes available and that includes both pentodes and directly
heated triodes, as well as miniature octal and twelve pin tubes. What is so
glorious about this current "Neo-Classical" era is that for the first time
in the modern audio arts we have choice between so many different brands of
directly heated triodes, especially 300Bs...as well as pentodes. Only a short
while ago we had no new directly heated triodes to choose from, and pentodes
were getting scarce.

It is a good thing that
those who love push/pull amplifiers can now run through a menu of different
brands and variations of their favorite pentodes: EL 34, 6L6, 6550s, and KT
88s. The other exciting development is the return of the push/pull amplifier
that uses directly heated triodes of the 2A3 and 300B variety, which is a
return to the glory of the late 1930s when these designs first appeared....and
pentodes werent in vogue yet. Push/pullers can literally become faint
with choices of output tubes.

The challenge here is
to achieve maximum reliable power with the greatest possible refinement,
and that is where the Plitron toroid OPTs, coupled with stiff power supplies
will take you beyond the beyond...especially if you use the right input/phase
splitter circuit.

On a personal note, because
it is my prejudice...if you dont need more than 60 watts I would like
you explore the use of 300Bs in push/pull amplifiers. It is a unique and mysterious
experience.

A comment about tube
reliability: Tubes are as, or more, reliable as transistors when usedproperly. Both the US and Soviet Military still use tubes. Dont
design a circuit that uses the tubes at their maximum rated voltage. Tubes
are voltage amplifying devices and if you use "tube killer" speakers, which
are low efficiency, and below 8 ohms, you are inviting Dr. Kervorkian into
your living room.

A concrete example: I
use tube regulated power supplies that are over 30 years old, and they all
have their original tubes, and they work perfectly because these were well
designed and conservative circuits.

I dont have to
spend too much time here talking about your choices of directly heated triodes
in single-ended amplifiers because the Triode Guild web site is filled with
my discussions of the different brands. But there is one aspect that is worth
mentioning because for the "custom hot rodder" this is important.

Recently because the
titans of directly heated triodes, Riccardo Kron and Alesa Vaic, have invented
a new category of high current directly heated triodes, the boundary of refined
power has been significantly extended. It is now possible with a one-tube
output stage to achieve from 15-30 watts of power. All that is required, in
the case of the Plitron SE-OPTs is that you use a Plitron power transformer
designed for this high current operation which means it has a rectified B+
of 590 volts and can produce 100-150 ma. of idle current. The important
consideration here is that Mennos OPT design can handle this higher
current and power load, and that is not true for many other single-ended transformer
designs.... I know I have tried it. BUT I want to suggest that these higher
powered directly heated triodes be used conservatively...these are expensive
tubes...so my suggesting is stay within the 550 volt/90 ma range limit.

In my recent experiments
with the above I can assure you that the Plitron toroid single-ended OPTs
can handle the increased voltage and current and sound truly amazing at the
higher power levels.

If you choose to go the
high current single ended directly heated route, which more musicmaniac are
choosing, be aware that you need to use a driver stage that is matched to
these tubes, which will have to swing more voltage than driver stages designed
for "normal" 300Bs.

Those who are blessed
with super high efficiency speakers that are above 94 dB efficient are free
to explore the ultimate mystery of 300Bs, 2A3s, and 45 with the Plitron 5K
SE-OPT. Those of you who are into Lowtherosity pay attention: you need the
refinement of the Plitron 5K SE-OPT!

SELECTING YOUR PLITRON
OPT: Before I get into this subject let me point out something that you
have been denied up until now. Have you ever seen the output transformer
specification, like you see listed by Plitron, from any other transformer
manufacturer or manufacturer of tube amplifiers? Do you want me to get
really aggressive on this issue? What other OPT transformer winder makes available
a design book as complete as Mennos, or any for that matter...one that
discusses all of the paradoxes and compromises of transformer design?

The answer is probably
NOT, NO OTHER. I havent found another, which is why Howard and Menno
flaunt their specifications and Mennos book, which is quite extraordinary.
What is the relationship between these electrical measurements and musical
performance? While there is no scientific correlation between perceived music
and distortion measurement, I can assure you that based on my own experience
Mennos toroid OPT are shredding the boundary of OPT performance. But
you understand this because you have read his new book.

As I am writing this
word started to leak out in the audio industry about this project and I began
to get emails from other transformer winders and they were upset with me,
in spite of the fact, that I have suggested this similar strategy to them
a very long time ago, and they all refused saying it was too much trouble.
Ill bet you Cameron Diazs bicycle seat that others will
soon follow the Triode Guild model...and that is good for everyone.

OUTPUT STAGE CONFIGURATION:

SINGLE-ENDED AMPLIFIERS:
Chapter 9 of Mennos book is one of the best explanations of the benefits
and limitation of this topology, and by now you know that a majority of my
articles on The Triode Guild web site are in praise of this circuits
paradox.

There is only one way
to connect a tube (directly heated triode) to a single ended output transformer
( I am not discussing pentode tubes used with single-ended transformers because
they are not popular), except if there is the use of some variable
feedback control, which is rare.

When you scan your single-ended
OPT choices here you will note that you can choose a design from 1 watts up
to 90 watts. You will note that certain models can easily handle the new high
current directly heated "300B type" triodes by KR and VAIC, and there is a
special model for using the Svetlana directly heated triodes, which creates
a 90-watt single-ended amplifier. Yikes.

There really is only
one issue for you to consider here. The question is should you use "fixed"
bias, where you can adjust the bias current running through the output stage
with a meter, or use self bias where the tube sets it own bias. I normally
recommend self-bias, but there is a good reason to use fixed bias, and it
is if you are going to "play" with lots of different brands of tubes. Also
changing the bias current flowing through your tubes will change the way your
amplifier sounds. You will also note that when you set the bias for 60 milliamps
for a Western Electric 300B and change and then plug in a KR 300B this tube
is not drawing 60 milliamps, and if you want this tube to operate at that
point so you will have to adjust the bias.

You should be aware that
many claim that self-bias sounds better. You should discuss this issue with
the artisan who is building your amp.

PUSH/PULL: A
TRIP TO P/P HEAVEN: Goodness gracious great balls of fire. There are so
many choices here you may need a computer to list them all, and that is the
fun of push/pull amplifiers.

When you read Mennos
book you will discover that this man has shredded the push/pull transformer
design envelope. CHECK OUT THE SPECIALIST RANGE. THIS IS TRULY ONE OF THE
MOST EXOTIC TRANSFORMER MENUS AVAILABLE...for all the classic pentodes, directly
heated triodes including Class A RF, including the Svetlanas, and Russian
"regulator" triodes.

During the 1970s when
I was a push/pull addict I had three "mule" amplifiers, A Dynaco MK VI, Dynaco
70, and a Harmon Kardon Citation, and if I had a dollar for every time I rebuilt
the output stage and tried a different configuration I would be a millionaire
today...which is why Plitrons SPECIALISTS RANGE of push/pull amplifiers
gives you so many and advanced ways to configure the output stage.

Pentodes create unlimited
possibilities in the way they can connected to their output transformers (if
the transformers have the taps) , and each has their advocates. With Mennos
toroid push/pull OPTs you have the choice of using the various types of "screen
taps" or not. Do you want to use screen grid winding technique, cathode feedback
or unity coupling? You have all the options and I dont know any other
brand of OPTs that offer these options, and certainly none of them have the
unique qualities of Plitron toroids.

On the other hand, directly
heated triode tubes used in push/pull dont require or permit all the
output stage "screen" variations possible with pentodes because they dont
have the extra tube elements that are present in pentode tubes that can be
used to optimize OPT connection. Adherents of the directly heated triode push/pull
school (like myself) claim that they dont need them, or feedback, because
these tubes are more linear than the more modern

(higher powered and less
linear) pentodes.

Now is the time to inflame
your imagination: There are no ultra-refined low powered (30 watt) EL-34
amplifiers in America; an amplifier that takes the Marantz 8B aesthetic
and extends it. Mennos new Super Pentode and Super Triode are calling
and as soon as I have time this is a project I am going to undertake for myself,
and am suggesting that you consider it because this is the first time that
we can create this genre that exploits Mennos feedback options. Menno
is rightly a big fan of the EL-34 and has designed a circuit board so you
can quickly experiment with his concepts. You will also note how much development
work he has done with this tube, and has literally re-invented its possibilities.

What I am trying to explain
is the fun of push/pull amplifiers, and remember you can always change the
configuration of your screen connections..no problemo.

If you are using a multi-tube
output stage, both halves have to work in perfect push/pull sync for quality
performance. The issue of how these multiple output tubes are biased becomes
critical, and explains why so many designers pick fixed bias where each tube
can, and must, be individually calibrated for the right bias. (This is explained
in detail in Mennos book) If you have eight output tubes, they should
all be drawing exactly the same bias current, and you will periodically
have to adjust the bias of each..... so that they are all drawing exactly
the same current. I suggest that it is important to be able to adjust each
tube individually. If your dream push/pull amplifier only uses two tubes then
by all means buy matched pairs and use self-bias.

THE BRAINS:THE INPUT STAGE:

This usually refers to
the combination of the voltage amplifier and the driver stage, which in a
push/pull amplifier is the phase splitter. There are encyclopedias written
on this subject, and you will note all the different web sites noted where
you can check out all of the different points of view, so rather than getting
bogged down in a micro-discussion let me offer you a meta-view:

I am encouraging polygamy,
just like it was practiced in the Old Testament....check out what follows
this section....

Chill out: If you change
your mind about your input circuit, no sweat. After trying one input/driver
stage and you get bored, and become curious, try another. This is the beauty
of this The Triode Guild project made possible by the extremely flexible power
supply and a chassis that can accommodate any input circuit...including transformer
phase splitters or drivers.

Want to get really far
out and use a combination of a 6SN7 as a voltage amplifier and an EL 34 to
drive your 300B single ended circuit...no problemo...plenty of options are
yours.

You will note that in
the mono chassis design the "INPUT PLATE" (or circuit board) which will be
punched for the tubes you use in your input circuit is 5"x5" which large enough
to contain the most sophisticated multi-tube circuit plug regulator tubes...or
what ever. The stereo amplifier uses a 5x7 INPUT PLATE, again, more than enough
room for your exotic or simple circuit.

OUTPUT POWER
LIMITATIONS

Based on my own experience
over the last twenty years I concluded that there was a "beauty wall" in transformer
coupled tube amplifiers because once you went past 100 watts per channel,
you needed such a large transformer that there was a rapidly diminishing sense
of musical magic. Personally, I dont like the idea of a high powered
tube amplifier because to go beyond 100 watts a channel requires a very high
degree of circuit complexity and so many output tubes that it is very difficult
to keep the "push and the pull" in balance. More power can mean more aural
confusion. Theneed for amplifier power is directly related to speaker
efficiency and an optimalapproach with all amplifiers, and especially
tubes amplifiers, is use high efficiency speakers. This is a very classical
notion: high efficiency speakers, low powered/high quality amplifiers, and
it is still the best guide for maximum musical ecstasy.

You may find it hard
to believe, but in my own reference system, my Plitron SE-OPT 300 amplifier
produces about 5 watts of potentially paint peeling power...because my speakers,
Tannoy Westminster Royals, are 99 dB efficient. A friend of my attempts to
get the same dynamic quality and he isnt successful and he is using
four 1,000 watt solid state amplifiers and very inefficient loudspeakers.

PART III

THE MEANING
OF VERY SERIOUS

You are dealing are now
dealing with not only the Guildmeister of the Triode Guild, but one of the
oldest audio hound dogs (with a connoisseurs nose) and a man with a
bat ear transplant who has been exploring edge of the tube amplifier art for
three decades...so when it comes to serious...I know what serious means...and
I have also been around the block a few times as far as tube amplifier manufacturer
are concerned...so my nose knows.

So lets put the
beef on the table...if you want to experience the full potential of a tube
amplifiers capacity for creating musical beauty you have to do some serious
thinking...ponder your choices....get yourself crazy for a while...just like
you were making the decision to get married...only this is much more important.
This may be difficult for many who are not accustomed to having no limitation
on their imagination...insecurities can pop up...understandably...so follow
me.....

The meaning of very serious,
when it comes to tube amplifiers, is quite simply your ability to incorporate
into your dream amplifier every single feature that advances an amplifiers
refinement...all of which we have known about for at least six decades, and
features that are regularly featured in the most refined custom made Japanese
and Italian amplifiers...again..... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING NEW
INVENTED HERE.

To start, we must start
with the soul of the tube amplifier, the output transformer. It must be of
the highest quality, and that means you should at the very least know all
of the relevant specifications. Like every machine there is a balancing act
here, and you must decide what characteristics are important to you. The very
fact that you can choose your OPT from the Plitron menu immediately separates
you from the masses.

And again I insist that
before you proceed with this project that you buy Mennos new book....and
dont worry about any of the technical stuff you dont understand...learn
as much as you can so you can make the best decisions possible. Your custom
builder will also help you pick the right toroid OPT...and it is great having
choices.

INPUT/DRIVER/PHASE
SPLITTER CIRCUITS: As an American, you should have the inalienable right
to choose the type of input/driver circuit you prefer, and if you get bored
or curious you should be able to change this circuit easily. The notion that
you must be locked into one input circuit for the life of your amplifier is
an obsolete idea, NOT SERIOUS.... and it is totally based on the ignorance
of most musicmaniacs (not you) who believe that there is only one right way
to create an input circuit for an amplifier. Each input circuit has its own
personality, benefits and limitation...just like the humans who invented them.
Be proud that you are an American, or a freedom loving human, and exercise
your freedom of choices, and never let any tube amplifier designer put into
the chains of bondage to one input circuit.

CHOICE OF COUPLING
CAPACITORS: One of the commonly used input circuits is the RC coupled
circuit, which employs capacitors in the signal path. Though capacitor coupling
is subject to the limitations of the capacitor, this type of circuit has the
benefit of extreme simplicity, and that matters. There are different schools
of thought about types of optimal coupling capacitors, which you are, I am
sure, are aware of. You should decide which you prefer, (oil, polypropylene,
Teflon, air) and if you change your mind or are bored you should be able to
change them easily. I like oil caps in my single-ended amplifiers and polystyrene
caps in my push/pull...but am always ready to listen to a new brand that comes
along. The different personality of these capacitors permits us to tune the
tonality of our amplifiers and the ability to easily change these capacitors
is an important consideration.

INDEPENDENT POWER
SUPPLY FOR INPUT CIRCUIT: It is very desirable to use a separate power
supply that it is completely independent and therefore decoupled from the
output stage power supply. We do not want any interstage interaction here.
This will make a big difference in the quality of your aural matrix in terms
of clarity, openness, and will also have a big effect on the quality of bass
response. I strongly recommend at the very least, a separate tube rectifier
and choke filtration here and optimally tube regulation. Because the currents
needed here is so small a very small tube rectifier and choke is needed. This
also means that this stage can be regulated with a simple circuit employing
a gas discharge regulator tube.

I dont know any
store bought amplifier that employs an independent power supply for the front
end, but you should demand it. You deserve it and it is very simple to implement.

DC FILAMENT SUPPLY:
For the lowest possible noise floor use DC on your tube filaments and use
a regulator or choke to remove all the high frequency noise. You want absolutely
the purest, cleanest voltages on your first stage, because any noise and garbage
will pollute the music signal and be amplified at the output stage. The paradox
of clarity applies here...a circuit of great clarity will reveal all of the
garbage too. When you have a dead quiet power supply the silence between the
notes is more distinct and the tonality quality of the music is vastly improved.

SOLID SILVER WIRING:
Demand solid silver wire for your signal carrying wire. It doesnt
take much wire and makes a big difference. NO STRANDED WIRE FOR THE SIGNAL.
Cost? Under $10 for both amps at the most.

DO NOT MOUNT YOUR
ON OFF SWITCH ON THE FRONT OF THE AMPLIFIER: You do not want any form
of AC voltage running up your amplifier near your output stage or input stage.
Mount your on/off switch on the back of your amp right near the power transformer.

INPUT ATTENUATOR:
If you decide to use an input attenuator use a stepped attenuator that employs
individual resistors for maximum refinement.

POWER SUPPLY CAPACITORS:
I dont like the sound of aluminum electrolytic capacitors, even the
computer grade ones. They sound grungy, they resonate and are tonal arsenic,
but if you must use them only uses the highest quality types...like the expensive
types that are made in Japan just for tube amplifiers. I use very small values
of these brands and then I use the largest amount of big oil capacitors that
I can fit on my chassis. One of the main reasons that the Plitron chassises
are so large is so that you can accommodate these oil capacitors....no store
bought amplifiers uses these capacitors...

CHOKES: Like money,
and hair, you cant have too many chokes.... almost, and they are almost
completely absent in store bought amplifiers because they take up extra room,
and ad cost...and it is assumed you dont know about their benefits.
In todays world, besides their primary job of "stiffening" the power
supply they are great devices for removing much of the AC line contamination
that can get into your signal on the power supply rails. Want to be really
serious? Use double PI filters on your output stage B+ rail, and use a choke
on the input stage, all your filaments and your bias supply. You will hear
the difference as an aggregation of refinement. Chokes are passive devices
so an increase in complexity here doesnt alter the reliability quotient
of your amplifier. Chokes come in different values and check the Plitron specs
and catalogs.

PUSH/PULL OUTPUT TRANSFORMERS:
Mennos book is your best way to understand just how serious Plitron
P/P OPTs are because of the choices they give you. There are some significant
innovation here, and it is all about the fact that each different "OPT feedback
tap" option creates a different aural matrix and you must choose which you
prefer...and you can always change your mind and try a different connection,
because the change-over takes no more than one hour. This is possible with
pentode output tubes, but not with triodes. Do not confuse this with changing
a pentode tube to "faux triode" operation, which is accomplished by connecting
two of the pentode plates together with a resistor. Here we are taking about
how the pentode tube is connected to the OPT, and I know of no store bought
amplifier that gives you the ability to switch, which is giving you control
over your tonal destiny. This is way cool.

POWER TRANSFORMER
RATING: This is easy to explain..think about what happens when you start
driving up a steep hill and you do not have enormous reserves of power in
your engine..same thing is true for a power transformer, which is why (revealing
the secret of all New York Audio Labs products) I have always used and demanded
over rated power transformers that to many seems absurd...but we can hear
the difference. This means that the power transformers have to be large and
more expensive...and this is the weakest arena of design in America. You will
note that all of the Plitron power transformers meet this condition and are
extremely over-rated and large. The problem often encountered with large power
transformers is that they have a mechanical hum, which contaminates the circuit.
Not so with Plitron toroids.

You will also note that
on the Plitron power transformers for single-ended amplifiers that the filament
voltage taps are very over-rated. That is because of the wide range of current
required by the new family of directly heated triodes.

Note that the current
rating on the B+ for the input circuit on all transformers is large enough
to feed the largest most complex circuits.

INPUT AND OUTPUT CONNECTIONS:
I am suggesting that you mount your RCA input right on the INPUT PLATE so
that there is the shortest possible wire between the input jack and the first
tube. I also suggest that your speaker terminals be as close as possible to
your OPTs. And now a few words about speaker terminals. My favorite are the
Edison Price Beryllium Copper (unplated) posts available from Eminent Technology.
I dont like plated ones.

AC FILTER: One
of the advantages of the larger chassis is that you can incorporate a transient
filter to your AC receptacle. They are available from Mouser and Digi-Key
and are a very good idea.

TUBE RECTIFICATION:
Go for it if your circuit can tolerate their current ratings. Different brands
and types can be used for a specific rating and they all have a different
sonic signature just like your other tubes. The Western Electric 274 is legendary
and it may be available again from VAIC soon. Many are now using TV Damper
Diodes in audio amplifiers and these have some advantages. As I mentioned
a separate small tube rectifier for the input or bias is also a good idea.
The reason I am so insistent about tube rectifiers is because you are and
should be questing for ultimate tonal refinement and this is the path of harmonic
magic. This is the old fashioned and the right way.

AESTHETICS: Who
picks out your clothes and dresses you in the morning? What could be more
fun that designing your own amplifier...Do you want a nice thick anodized
aluminum faceplate? Do you want your chassis painted or chrome plated. I feel
silly explain how serious this is because I am sure you have designed your
own home, or hot rod or motorcycle...so you get it.